There and Back Again: A Pokemon Tale by SeaJade
by SeaJade
Summary: A trainer sets off on a Pokemon Adventure only to end up saving the world blah blah blah. Loosely follows the plot of ORAS. Should provide an interesting read if you are like me and are bored.


Howdy Folks, SeaJade here. So, this is a new story about a Pokemon trainer. (Big surprise) Takes place in Hoenn and roughly follows the game story line. Now, I said roughly so expect the unexpected. Without further ado, please enjoy!

* * *

I sat in the dark. The low hum of the engine floated through my head as I shifted positions, sitting next to a few cardboard boxes hours on end is not exactly comfortable. I turned the spherical object in my hand over and over, giving my hands something to do while my brain was lost in thought.

If there was room, I would let out the ball's contents. The pokémon inside had been my companion for some few years now, but due to its dislike of the dark, I doubted that letting it out in the closed back of a small moving van would be the wisest of ideas.

I continued to stare at the faint outline of boxes as my mind thought of what this new town would be like. The move was sudden to say the least. I come home from school one day only to find out that I had one week to say goodbye to all my friends. The story was that my father had found a new job, one that made better use his skill set, in the region of Hoenn.

So, from Cianwood City in Johto, I had to move all the way to a "Littleroot Town" in Hoenn. Needless to say, I was not the happiest camper. That being said, I understood why the decision was made. I was often told that I was mature for my age, and I can definitely say that my supposed "maturity" did help me with the sudden change. My parents had given up everything for me, this was the least I could do to show my appreciation.

I felt the van slow to a stop. I guess we had arrived. I get to my feet, slowly stretching out my legs to avoid any cramps.

I hear my mom pound on the exterior of the van, "Honey, we have arrived!"

I hear her play with the lock on the door, and I walk over and help push the two metal doors open.

Pain.

My eyes were pierced by the bright sun overhead. Having sat in the dark for a few hours, my eyes were not prepared to face this onslaught of photons.

"Too bright for you?" My mom asks with a tinge of humor in her voice.

I nod while shielding my eyes with one of my hands. With my other hand, I tossed the Poke Ball and released my companion: Ralts.

The blue-capped psychic type Pokémon sprang out onto the ground. It let out a cheerful little cry before spinning around and taking it all in. I followed Ralt's suit and gazed at my new hometown. It was a far cry from the warm beaches of Cianwood, where sand was replaced with grass and the smell of the ocean was replaced with the scent of fresh pine. I had to admit, there were worse places to live.

"This is your new home," My mother said, putting her arm around me and pulling me into a half hug.

"Yeah," I responded.

Suddenly, she pushed me from behind, "Go on, look around."

I turned around, "But what about unloading-"

"Why do you think we have the moving Pokémon?" she said while shooing me, "Go have some fun, you have been stuck in the back of a truck for the last ten hours."

As if on cue, the Machoke that had ridden with my mother up front flexed its muscles and proceeded to grab and lift the nearest, heavy looking box.

I sighed, this was one battle I knew I wouldn't win, "Then at least take Ralts. She can help you sort out the things on the inside."

Ralts smiled and did a nother twirl before running to my mother, who bent down and picked up my Pokémon in her arms. She patted Ralts on the head before saying, "Fine, but hurry up and go! I hear there is a girl about your age who lives our neighbors house. Oh, and here."

Mom reached towards me with her hand outstretched, "It's a present from your father, he wants you to use it on the first Pokémon that you see in Hoenn."

In my hand she placed what looked like a white Poke ball, "A Premier ball?"

"Go into the woods, have an adventure!" she said, "find love."

"Mom," I said with exasperation. She just smiled and spun around, talking to Ralts about who knows what. "Thanks," I called after her.

She lifted one hand in acknowledgement and I spun around and walked over to the adjacent house. I hesitated before walking up to the door and gave it a few quick knocks. Then I waited…..and waited…..nothing. I took one last look at the house before turning and walking away. It looked very similar to my new house, just a different color.

I took along a dirt path towards what looked like a gap in the sea of trees. As I got closer, I made out the figure of a small child, standing next to a sign. When I got close enough to read the sign, which said, Route 101—Oldale Town. I made to go into this 'Route 101' but the child ran in front of me, halting my progress.

"It's dangerous to go any further!" he said. (I think it's a little boy…not completely sure at that age)

"Oh?" I questioned.

"Wild Pokémon live in the tall grass," the kid said, "I can't let you go without protection!"

I was amused at this child's actions, not that I was much more of a child myself, only 14 years of age, but I wasn't about to be stopped by something like this.

I held up Ralts' empty poke ball, "But I do have protection, my super strong Pokémon."

The boy's eyes widened in wonder, "You're a Pokémon trainer? Can I see?"

Now, as you remember, while I did have the Poke ball on me, I didn't actually have my Pokémon inside the Poke ball. However, I had come much too far to give up now.

I shook my head at the boy, "I would, but you see, this Pokémon is so strong that if I let it out here, you might get hurt, so I cannot let my Pokémon out. Sorry Kid."

The boy's face contorted into a pout, "I want to see it!"

He made a grab for a Poke ball, which I sidestepped. His momentum carried him past me and I quickly took a few steps into Route 101. The kid spun around and ran towards me before stopping right at the edge of town.

"Lemme see! Lemme see!" the boy cried, still remaining on the town side of the border.

While impressed by the kid's self-restraint to not actually cross into Route 101, I wasn't about to let my façade fall here. I tossed my Poke ball up into the air before catching it and saying, "maybe when I get back." This seemed to appease the child for the time being as he stopped whining and just crossed his arms, staring at me. I took this as his acceptance to my proposal, which I hope he will forget by the time I get back, but for now, I had a date with adventure.

I'm not sure what gave me this love for adventure. Maybe it was the free spirit of my father, or my mother's desire to be the nicest person for everyone to meet. Whatever it was, this new place smelt like a big adventure. I wandered into the woods, the dirt road turning into wild grass which game up to my thighs. Besides the occasional rustle of grass around me, it had been uneventful.

Then I ran into him. Rounding a corner, something big and white crashed into me. I fell backwards, my senses blaring. I tucked into a ball and rolled, stopping myself when my feet hit the ground to face my attacker….who was face down on the muddy ground.

An adult in a white lab coat lay sprawled out before me.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

The man rose to his knees, "Huh? Who are you?"

"Jade," I said, "and are you all right?"

"Oh, yes, yes," he man said. He had a quite quick manner of speaking, "yes, I'm alright."

"Good," I said offering my hand.

The man took it and rose to his feet, "Birch, Professor Birch, is what you may address me by. My name that is."

"Got it," I answered, his manner of speaking was…different.

Just then, he seemed to notice the Poke balls at my side, "Oh, a Pokémon trainer!"

"Well, actually-," I started. I did own a Pokémon, but despite my father's urgings, I wasn't really into making Ralts beat up or get beat up by other Pokémon.

However, before I could finish, "You must help me, Kris."

"Jade."

"Quite right, Slade," he said, "I'm in quite the predicament you see."

"Didn't you just say that you were alright?" I asked.

"That was then, this is now," Professor Birch said, "Listen! Drawn by the rumor of a rare Pokémon, I ventured out into the woods with my briefcase. Now, my briefcase did indeed have Pokémon within it, if I needed to protect myself, but when I found the rare Pokémon, a brilliant find by the way, I seemed to have misplaced it."

"You just lost a briefcase of Pokémon?" I asked.

The Professor waved aside my question, "Now, this rare Pokémon is currently chasing me. Use you Pokémon and help me out!"

"Wait, hold up," I said, "why is it chasing you and I doubt I can help. I don't actually have any Pokemon on me."

"Well then capture it then," the Professor said matter-of-factly, "use those empty Poke balls to capture it!"

I could now begin to hear the sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves; something was headed our way. Now, I had two Poke balls at my side, one was Ralts' and the other the Premier ball that my mother gave me. I grabbed the Premier ball.

"Okay, first of all, what did you do to make it chase you," I asked, "and what type of Pokémon is it?"

Now, I could list off all the Pokémon found in Johto like I could the letters of the alphabet, but Hoenn was not Johto so I needed information on my enemy. This person claimed to be a "professor" so the more knowledge he could give me, the easier this would be.

"Well, all I did was try to measure the size of its scythes, and its teeth, and wingspan," Birch started, "Oh, and I wanted to hear its cry. I've made this device you see, it's like an encyclopedia for Pokémon. It records the data for all Pokémon so we can have more knowledge about the creatures we live with in this world! Isn't that amazing?!"

"So you're saying that you bothered and invaded the space of a wild Pokémon with scythes and teeth?"

"It was quite the marvelous creature too! The green hue of its-"

"Okay! Next time, don't belligerently bother wild Pokémon and especially do not invade the territory of those with sharp, pointy weapons for body parts!"

"Goodness, you sound like my daughter!" the professor huffed.

So, she is the reason why this guy is still alive. I thought.

The sound was much closer now, and I could see a green shape moving quickly through the trees towards us. I grabbed the professor who was starting to walk a little bit closer to the trees, I'm assuming in order to see the Pokémon better, and pulled him back, ignoring his protests. I readied my Poke ball, timing was everything. The Pokémon was almost upon us. I reared back and threw. A blur shot out of the trees, right into the path of the Poke ball.

My father once told me that if you can get a Pokémon unawares, it is an easier catch than if they are expecting it. The Poke ball opened, emitting a red flash that surrounded the Pokémon. The Premier ball fell to the ground and shook.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The center button of the Poke ball lit up, signaling a successful capture.

The professor clapped his hands, "Wonderful, absolutely wonderful capture! At such a young age, too! You must be a natural!"

I walked over and picked up the Poke ball. The figure I saw wasl a blur so I wasn't completely sure what Pokémon it was. I had an idea, but this was Hoenn, and I'm not sure what to expect from the Pokémon in this region.

That was when the howling started. From the forest, the howling of unknown origin surrounded us.

"That doesn't sound good," I said.

"Hmm," the prosessor thought, "during the rampage, the Poochyena packs must have been disturbed."

Glowing eyes could be seen from the dark recesses of the forest. Pair after pair of eyes appeared, dozens upon dozens of eyes. Their faces followed, and a pack of grey-black Pokémon appeared. They had an appearance similar to a Houndour but much furrier and had shorter legs.

They bared their fangs and growled, advancing upon the professor and myself. Once they had us completely surrounded, they stopped their advance. Their eyes still fixed upon us, a hole opened up in their ranks, and a Poochyena, visibly larger than the rest stepped forward.

"That must be the alpha!" Birch said in amazement, "what a rare find! Two rare sightings in a single day! I can't wait to get back and tell Lapis!"

"That's if we get back," I muttered, not breaking eye contact with the alpha. Then, the pack grew eerily quiet. The alpha raised its head and howled and its pack followed suit.

"I think it is challenging you," the Professor said, "you against the alpha."

I gripped the premier ball tighter. It was times like these that I wish I had paid more attention to my father's battling lessons. Well, time to see just how much I learned. I threw the ball into the air and a red light flashed. A few feet in front of me, the Pokémon I had just caught appeared.

"Ah," I said, "I was right."

Scyther took a battle stance facing the alpha Poochyena. A device was thrust into my face. The professor had shoved some red gadget into my face. Instinctively I grabbed it from him, but other than that paid no attention to it, my focus was on the fight.

"Use it!" Birch said, "it will tell you about the Pokémon-strengths, weaknesses, type. Use it to help you in your battle, point it at your Pokémon and press the red button!"

Poochyena lunged and Scyther sidestepped slashing down at the Poochyena's flank. It connected and sent the canine Pokémon rolling across the floor.

"Nice!" I said a little too soon.

The Poochyena quickly rose to it's feet and resumed its attack. This time, biting hard on my Pokémon's leg. I whipped up the Pokedex and pointed it at Scyther. Instantly it flashed to life and my Pokémon appeared on the screen. It truly was an amazing device, everything the professor said it would do it did and even more than that!

I quickly read the description and called out "Scyther, harden!"

Scyther nodded it's head in acknowledgement and steadied itself. It's green scales becoming a clearer, more vibrant green. The Poochyena let go, the scales now much harder to bite then previously. It jumped back trying to create some distance, but Scyther was faster.

At my command, Scyther dashed forward and slashed the Poochyena knocking it back. This time it didn't rise up. The pack closest to their alpha surrounded the large Poochyena and checked to see it their leader really had been defeated. Form somewhere, a blue berry was produced and one of the Poochyena squeezed it's juices into the mouth of its defeated comrade. When the juice entered its mouth, the alpha's eyes opened and it rose steadily to its feet. Scyther once again readied itself for battle, but instead of engaging us, the Poochyena sat on its haunches and sniffed the air. The rest of the pack did the same.

"What are they doing?" I wondere out loud, not really expecting anyone to answer.

"It seems that they are acknowledging you as their new alpha," Professor Birch said, "what a fantastic sight, it is extremely rare to see the actual transfer of the pack over to a new alpha! You are quite the lucky guy!"

"Sounds like a bother…"

"Are you kidding, no human ever recorded (to my knowledge) has been made the alpha of a pack."

"Great," I said.

"It really is an honor," Birch said.

The Poochyena by this point had stopped sniffing the air and the former alpha bowed its head to me. I scratched the back of my head and said, "Why don't you continue to lead the pack for now. Watch over them for me."

The Poochyena's eyes widened. I, frankly, was surprised that it could understand me. The former alpha once again bowed to me, this time with a little more vitality before barking twice. At the second bark, the Poochyena pack dispersed back into the woods and the clearing was empty in a manner of seconds.

I walked over to my Scyther and patted its head, "Good job."

My new Pokémon smiled at the action and I returned it to it's Poke ball. The thought to let it go crossed my mind, but it was the first Pokémon I saw and Dad did tell me to catch the first Pokémon, so I quickly dismissed the idea.

"That. Was. Amazing," Professor Birch said, "I must get back to my lab and right all of this down!"

With that, the lab coat wearing man dashed off towards the direction of Littleroot Town without so much a glance towards me. I shook my head. Now that was an odd individual. Not a bad odd, but odd.

I glanced back down at the Pokedex that the professor gave me, he forgot to take it back. For the time being, I pocketed the device and started walking, taking a brisk pace back towards my new hometown. I had enough adventure for the day.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set as I walked back into Littleroot Town and truthfully, I was almost disappointed to not see the kid standing guard by the edge of town, now that I did have a Pokémon to show him. I found my way back to the path that led home, but I stopped in front of my neighbor's house first. I might as well introduce myself.

This time, when I knocked on the door, it opened only for me to come face to face with the odd Professor form earlier.

"Poochyena boy!" he exclaimed, "what brings you here?"

I started at how he addressed me, Poochyena boy? I decided to ignore it and simply said, "Hey Professor Birch, I just came by to introduce myself. I'm the one who moved next door with my mother and father."

"But you already introduced yourself," the Professor said with a puzzled look on his face.

Suddenly, a hand appeared on the professor's shoulder and pushed him aside. A genial looking woman took his place and stood aside, beckoning me to come in, "I apologize for my husband, he can be a little quirky sometimes. Not the best at first impressions, trust me, I've been there."

"It's really no problem," I said, "I've already met him after all."

The woman's eyes widened in recognition, "Oh, you must be Slade! Yes, Birch has told me all about you. Thank you for helping him earlier today. He probably ran off without offering his thanks. He means well though."

I smiled in half embarrassment, "It's my pleasure really, it was in my power to help, so I did, nothing to glorify."

"And humble too," Mrs. Birch said.

"Jade, is that you?" My mother called form somewhere in the house.

"Mom?" I called back.

My mother rounded a corner, coming into view, "Oh, Jade, I heard all about today! Your father would be so proud!"

I let out a small laugh, "Thanks."

Just then, I felt a weight land on my forehead, and tiny hands grip the sides of my head. I looked up to see Ralts perched on my head like a hat, "Hey buddy."

Ralts smiled and let out a small cry.

"Ralts was such a big help today," my mom continued, "she's the one that made your room!"

"Oh did you now?" I said reaching up to pat Ralts' head, much to the Pokémon's delight, "I got a friend for you."

I quickly pulled off the premier ball form my belt and opened the device. Scyther popped out. Immediately, Ralts' weight disappeared from my head and she appeared on the head of the green bug type Pokémon. Now, Scyther, being a new addition to our group, was not prepared to the psychic type Pokémon's sudden attack, so at the connections with its head, Scyther began flailing around, trying to dislodge the unwelcome guest.

Ralts however, seemed to be have the time of her life, holding on to Scyther while being flung this way and that.

"Scyther, calm down!" I commanded, "It's just Ralts!"

After a few seconds, the green Pokémon quieted down, after realizing that the thing on its head was not actually hurting it. When Scyther stopped, Ralts pounded its tiny hands against Scyther as if it wanted Scyther to continue what it was doing. The green bug Pokemon looked at me for further instruction.

"Ralts," I said, "Off Scyther please."

Ralts smiled and with a 'POP' disappeared from its position on Scyther's cranium. I'll give you three guesses where it appeared next. That's right, back on top of my head.

"Ralts, Scyther, greet each other," I said, "You will be seeing a lot of each other from here on out and it will make things a lot easier if you learn to get along."

Both Pokémon greeted each other in their own Pokémon way and the professor broke the silence, "What an amazing bond you have with these Pokémon, and one that you only just met too!"

I smiled, "Yeah, ever since I was a kid, Pokémon kind of just took a liking to me. All my dad's Pokémon seem to love me and the wild Pokémon around my area would play with me too. Granted those Pokémon were used to the presence of humans."

It looked like the professor was about to say something, when the door to his house burst open, "DAD! IS DAD OKAY?"

A girl around my age, dressed in red with a complicated looking haircut and a red cap burst in through the front door.

"Hey Lapis, honey," Professor Birch said, "I'm fine, what's the rush about?"

The girl named Lapis saw her father, and after a few seconds, looked visibly relieved, and then furious.

"What. Is. The. Matter?" she asked pointedly, "THIS is the matter!"

Lapis held up what looked like a torn up brief case. Lacerations were all along the side of the man bag. Mrs. Birch put a hand to her mouth, "Honey, you said that you dropped it when you were saved by Jade here, and those look nothing like Poochyena claw marks, more like-" she glanced at my Scyther.

Lapis seemed to notice me and my Pokémon for the first time, "Who are you? Is that the Pokémon that attacked my dad?"

"I can't say that it is not," I replied.

Lapis immediately took on a defensive stance, which, personally, I think is a complete waste of energy. What could one girl do against an animal that had blades for arms?

"What is that doing here?" Lapis asked.

"Well, it's my Pokémon," I replied.

"So you are saying that you are the one who attacked my dad," she accused.

"How in the world did you even get to that conclusion?" I asked, stupefied.

"Well, it's your Pokémon, and it attacked my dad, so you are the one to blame!"

"Look, I caught Scyther to protect your father," I explained, "he was messing around in its territory, and I saved your dad when the Scyther decided it had enough of your father's antics!"

"Is that true dear?" Mrs. Birch asked, "Because if so, we are going to have a talk."

The professor gulped and looked at me with a "YOU HAVE BETRAYED ME!" kind of look. I shrugged and he turned back to his wife before giving a little shrug.

"When you put it that way…" he said.

The professor's wife pinched the bridge of her nose, "Honey, you were in real danger this time you know that, we are so lucky…so lucky that Mrs. Norman and her son arrived when they did."

"Sorry," Birch said sheepishly.

"Well," his wife said, "what happened, happened. I hope you at least got some good data for what it was worth."

At that, the professor's eyes lit up, "You have no idea!"

He then proceeded to go into a monologue about the specific aspects of the Pokémon, the habitat, and a bunch more specific things. I noticed that Mrs. Birch seemed to be genuinely interested about the subject, a perfect match for a so-called Pokémon Professor.

The three adults walked further into the house while listening to the Professors findings. I decided to stay back as Lapis seemed like she wanted to say something.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Hmm?" I asked, partially because I didn't actually hear her and partially because although I guessed what she said, I wanted to hear her say it again for some reason…I guess I'm not as mature as I thought.

"Sorry," she said a little louder, "I jumped to conclusions. Thank you for saving my dad."

"It's no problem," I said.

She set down the briefcase against the wall and walked over to a desk on the adjacent living room. "Really," she said, "I want to express my thanks. My father can be a handful at times but he always works his hardest and best for this family. Please take this as a token of my thanks."

She held out what looked like a piece of paper. I took it and gave it a closer look, "A map?"

"Yes," she replied, "this is a map of the Hoenn region. I know you just moved here so you probably don't have anything like this."

"Wow," I said, "thanks so much."

"It's nothing," she replied, "I just hope it will be able to help."

"I have no doubt that it will."

Then, Lapis' mom's voice rang, "Lapis, honey, could you come here?"

"Okay!" Lapis called back, then turned to me, "it was nice meeting you-"

"Jade," I said.

"Jade," she repeated, "It was nice meeting you, Jade."

"And you as well," I answered back.

She disappeared form the room to answer her mother's summons. I looked at my Pokémon. Ralts had since gotten off my head and was hiding behind Scyther. Ralts was a little sensitive to negative emotions so I guess that Lapis' initial accusation made her feel uncomfortable.

I squatted down, "Hey, Ralts, why don't we go check out that room that you made? I heard that you worked hard on it."

Ralts visibly brightened and spun out from behind Scyther who watched the small psychic type with amusement, "Wanna come too?" I asked Scyther.

The Pokémon gave what I take to be a shrug and it followed Ralts and I as we left the house. Mom was busy, she would know where I went without me telling her.

It had gotten dark now and the light of the house was the only thing that brightened my way. I got up to my room and frankly, I was impressed. Everything was neat and orderly. My desk was set up with my computer, books, and fan. My bed was made, my gaming systems were all wired up to my television, the pictures were all nice and even, "Good job, Ralts."

The Pokémon gave a happy cry before jumping on my bed and cuddling up on my pillow. Scyther just looked around, found a corner and sat down.

"You good there?" I asked the Pokémon.

Scyther nodded and closed its eyes, I guess it was tired. Ralts had already passed out on my pillow. I smiled at the two, glad that they were getting along so well. I quickly found my toiletries and prepared for bed. When I was done, I quietly got onto the opposite side of the bed as Ralts and closed my eyes, mentally preparing for the adventure that tomorrow would bring.

* * *

Ok, so its a little lengthy, but not too bad. As I said, this is like one of those movies that is 'based on a real story'.

Anyway, I really do hope you enjoyed it and please R & R.

Ciao,

SeaJade


End file.
